Odd-Eccentric Personality Disorders in the Inmate Population

Scenario:

You are the commander three shifts of corrections officers (COs) working around the clock in a maximum-security cell block in a state penitentiary. You have an exceptionally good group of COs who have managed to intervene in most potentially violent problems without incident. They have developed an effective network of prison informants form the inmate population.

There is a Middle-Eastern man who is about 65 years old serving a life sentence for the honor killing of his own daughter. He has been in the prison for about 10 years. Your COs report to you that his mental state appears to be deteriorating. He is a moderately religious person and feels there is no reason for terror violence. Every time an article about terrorism or the threat of terrorism is published in the newspapers provided by the prison library, the inmate reports to the COs that there is a planned violent takeover by the Muslims incarcerated in the same cell block. There are a number of American-born Muslims incarcerated in the cell block, and the inmate seems to have access to them as a sort of religious leader for prayer services and advice.

At first, you took him seriously, but when he started to explain who the extremists were and what their mission was, you began to realize that he was just selecting inmates in the cell block and identifying them as potential inmates with violent intent. He would make up stories about the manufacture of makeshift weapons in the middle of the night. He would indicate that the Muslim extremists had contacts with other inmates throughout the prison and a comprehensive riot and plan to take over the prison was being planned. Several prison staff members working in the infirmary have been identified by the inmate as sympathetic to the extremists' cause, and he has accused them of helping provide weapons and other materials.

Please respond to the following questions using the scenario. Please include references.

What are 2 types of disorders that might be affecting this complainant, and why did you consider them?What types of referrals are available for a mentally ill person of this sort?How should you continue to handle this inmate's reported intelligence information, and why?

Solution Preview

Based on the symptoms being described in this scenario, there is a large range of potential reasoning for the inmates erratic behavior. Based upon the age range (65 years old) and the fact that he is serving a life sentence based upon the honor killing of his daughter the logical conclusion would be that the inmate is suffering from a form of psychosis and delusions. This can be extended to be a form of schizophrenia, paranoid disorder, or borderline personality disorder. Psychosis is trademarked by the inability for an individual in a psychotic state to tell reality from fiction. Psychosis limits an individuals ability to correctly distinguish actual events from fictional events. Due to the fact that the inmates reports are always centered around when ...

Solution Summary

This answer provides potential reasoning for an inmates delusional and eccentric behavior. Potential referral and treatment options are explored. In addition to this, justification for how to respond to the inmate's intelligence reports is also discussed.

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